3D printing? How does this work?

About 3D printing:
3D printing is the crazy future tech that early sci-fi shows displayed and it was seen as a fantasy construct that might be possible, but probably not. Much like time travel.

Here's Wikipedia's article on the subject: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3d_printing

And here's Shapeways' quicker and more entertaining version:


Customers and collectors of fine hand-made tools and gadgets are accustomed to small production runs. Sometimes there will be a waiting list of several months -sometimes a sale will be over in a couple of minutes and each customer is only allowed to buy a few items. And although I really enjoy "hunting" these items, this is not how my designs will be sold.

Due to the process of 3D printing (and the fact that I'm not involved in the production process), there is no limit of the quantity you can buy. Want 1000 TritTags? Knock yourself out. I might have some limited time sales, but the time will be measured in days or weeks -not minutes.


Purchasing
It all works like this: I license out my designs to Shapeways, who then take care of anything and everything else.
They have a good shopping cart, secure payment, clear order overview and great customer support. Over the years, I've bought countless items from Shapeways and I've yet to have a bad purchasing experience.

Shipping
http://www.shapeways.com/support/shipping